Job 12

12And Job answered and said,

^2aNo doubt but ye are ^bthe people,

And wisdom shall die with you.

³But I have ^†understanding as well as you;

^†I am not inferior to you:

Yea, ^†who knoweth not such things as these?

⁴I am as one ^cmocked of his neighbour,

Who ^dcalleth upon God, and he answereth him:

The just upright man is laughed to scorn.

⁵He that is ^eready to slip with his feet

Is as a lamp despised in the thought of ^eehim that is at ease.

^6fThe tabernacles of robbers prosper,

And they that provoke God are secure;

Into whose hand God bringeth abundantly.

⁷But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee;

And the fowls of the air, and they shall tell thee:

⁸Or speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee:

And the fishes of the sea shall declare unto thee.

⁹Who knoweth not in all these

That the hand of the ^gLord hath wrought ^hthis?

¹⁰ⁱIn whose hand is the ^||soul ^jof every living thing,

And ^kthe breath of ^†all mankind.

¹¹Doth not ^lthe ear try words?

And the ^†mouth taste his meat?

¹²With the ^mancient is wisdom;

And in length of days understanding.

^13||nWith him is wisdom and strength,

He hath counsel and ^ounderstanding.

¹⁴Behold, he breaketh down, and it cannot be built again:

He ^pshutteth ^†up a man, and there can be no opening.

¹⁵Behold, he ^qwithholdeth the waters, and they dry up:

Also ^rhe sendeth them out, and they overturn the earth.

¹⁶With him is strength and ^swisdom:

The deceived and the deceiver are his.

¹⁷He leadeth counsellers away ^tspoiled,

And ^umaketh the judges fools.

¹⁸He ^xlooseth the bond of kings,

And girdeth their loins with a girdle.

¹⁹He leadeth ^yprinces away ^tspoiled,

And overthroweth the mighty.

^20zHe removeth away ^†the speech of the trusty,

And ^ataketh away the understanding of the aged.

^21bHe poureth contempt upon princes,

And ^||weakeneth the strength of the mighty.

^22cHe discovereth deep things out of darkness,

And bringeth out to light ^dthe shadow of death.

^23eHe increaseth the nations, and destroyeth them:

He enlargeth the nations, and ^†straiteneth them again.

^24zHe taketh away the heart of the chief of the people of the earth,

And ^fcauseth them to wander in ^ga wilderness where there is no way.

^25hThey grope in the dark without light,

And he maketh them to ^†stagger ⁱlike a drunken man.